'Legal Implications of Social Media and the Hiring Process\r'

'MBA 610 Final Paper Legal Implications of complaisant Media and the Hiring Process Tammy Rider October 17, 2012 Social media has beget one of the more or less all important(p) tools in condescension practices. Companies push aside advertise their services and products for secret code or next to nothing, network with other communication channeles, generate in the altogether business, connect with their customers, and result a valuable look into tool. It has changed the face of business as we know it. With this fantastic innovation must(prenominal)ers responsibility. Employers and employees alike must face radical rules and rectitudes associated with their societal media practices.One much(prenominal) practice that has become important in the business world is the use of hearty media during the hiring edge. Some companies even go so utmost as to signal business concern appli open firets for their username and passwords for such sites such as Facebook, MySpace, an d Twitter. Where do the rights of employers and the rights of employees fit into this bleak elevated tech world? The level-headed system faces new challenges every day regarding this relatively young business quandary. Where should the dividing lines of screen be drawn?How much neighborly media culture should an employer be permitted to use during the screening process for hiring a new employee? It has just recently come to the media’s attention that some employers ask their assembly line applicants for their Facebook login education and password. However, the reality is that employers score been using neighborly media to investigate these applicants for years. In 2011, Reppler, a complaisant media monitor service, conducted a survey of 300 hiring professionals to learn if, when, and how they are using tender media to screen bloodline applicants.The convey found that 91% of recruiters or hiring managers use loving networking sites to screen prospective employ ees. Out of these recruiters and hiring managers, 69% revealed that they stomach denied employment to a infer over applicant repayable to something they found on an applicant’s social networking site (1). Employers, however, should take caution when using the information they take chances to sort show up a decision whether to pick out an applicant or throw their application in the trash.It would seem that applied science is outpacing the law in this plain; however, employers should very seriously review the information they find and be sure that it does not lead to a liability under the Fair impute describe bet, or some other evidence or federal employment discrimination laws. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) states that an employer must provide a disclosure that a consumer report or emphasise check will be performed to their job applicants, and should pose signed authorization by the applicant to march on with this research.It is in addition the duty of the community to provide poster to the job applicant that they will take indecent action to not hire them onward the comp some(prenominal) actually takes that action, and provide a post-adverse action tick (2). It is interesting to note that these FCRA requirements do not impose to employers who perform their own cathode-ray oscilloscope checks without using a consumer-reporting agency to obtain the information. Human resources hiring managers that perform a social media search on a job applicant are not bound to these FCRA regulations to provide disclosure and gain consent from the applicant.This is where it gets tricky! Although a hiring manager whitethorn not ask to constipate to the FCRA regulations, they may shut away be confronted with other state and federal laws regarding employment discrimination and privacy. In the prehistorical, employers have been very careful to not invade employee privacy, household any employment decisions on protected characteristics, or ask unlawful researchs during the interview process. In the past few years though, employers have been using social media to screen applicants on a regular basis, whether formally or informally.By performing these pre-employment research screenings on job applicants using social media profiles, employers are cathode-ray oscilloscope themselves up to discrimination claims under federal, state, and local laws. Since this area is still fuzzy and grey as far as the law is concerned, employers need to stay informed and enlightened to protect themselves from potential lawsuits. Consulting with an attorney who specializes in this national would be a wise decision. As the laws evolve, so must the employer’s behaviors.By reviewing social networking profiles and information, employers are scholarship about job applicants’ religious beliefs, marital status, family relationships, race, ethnicity, aesculapian conditions, and other information that cannot be used to make an emp loyment-based decision. This is information that is knock overed as protected characteristics even though an applicant or employee has made it public on a social media profile. As a result, employers must take care when performing such research.Ultimately, should a discrimination claim arise, the employer will have the cargo of proof to demonstrate that the decision to reject a job applicant was based on a legitimate non-discriminatory reason, rather than the fact that the employer learned of the job applicant’s sexual orientation, the projected ascribable date of the job applicant’s baby, or any other protected characteristic. So the question that persists is how can we make use of social media without disrupting any discrimination laws?Some of the job-related information found in a profile may be highly valuable in determining an applicant’s qualifications for the job. One practical method is to only lease someone who is not involved in the hiring of the peculiar(prenominal) sic to be the mortal who conducts the social media primer check. Then, when the social media background check is completed, that person can summarize the job-related information that may be useful in considering the applicant, and can make no quotation of the â€Å"protected” information (race, religion, medical condition, etc. that would other get the employer into trouble. This way, the hiring manager, or ultimate decision-maker, receives only the job-related information, and can demonstrate that the information unknown to him or her had nothing to do with the decision to hire other candidate. Furthermore, before the job opening is even posted, employers should be candid about what they are really looking for in a social media background check, and whether it is necessary for the picky position.For example, the importance and extent of a social media background may depend on the position the fellowship needs to fill (for example, a CFO positio n versus a seasonal stockroom employee). Certainly, employers should be doing abundant pre-hiring due diligence to avoid potential claims of absorbed hiring, but they must balance those concerns with finding out information that exposes them to liability for discrimination. There exists yet another level of privacy invasion that some businesses have been practicing. Asking for a job applicant’s login and password information goes beyond simply glide the web for research purposes.Some hiring managers get around this request by having the job candidate log into their Facebook account, for instance, during an personally interview. These potential candidates are put into a whippy position. Should they refuse this request or just do it to keep them in the running for the job? Do these employer requests violate the federal Stored Communications Act or the Computer Fraud and laugh at Act? The laws meet the Stored Communications Act prohi twist intentional bother to electronic information without authorization or by choice exceeding that authorization, 18 U.S. C. § 2701. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act prohibits intentional access to a estimator to obtain information without authorization, 18 U. S. C. § 1030(a) (2) (C). Are these laws organism violated when companies request login information from job applicants? It would surely be a violation if the company stony-broke into an account to access the information without authorization. The Equal usance Opportunity Commission will have to interpret whether employers who request this login information are violating anti-discrimination statutes.State legislators are initiation to introduce legislation that aims to prohibit this practice. In April 2012, atomic number 101 was first to introduce a bill to discard employers from demanding Facebook or other social networking login information and passwords. separate states have followed or are currently pursuance suit with bills of their own. For instance, California introduced the â€Å"Social Media Privacy Act” to legislature which would protect the social media privacy rights of students and employees (3).The law is attempting to take in up with technology, beginning with the states and expanding federally in the future. It is in this writer’s opinion that employers should consider the non-legal ramifications of this social media dilemma in addition to the legal implications. By demanding this private information they are setting themselves up to lose some of their best employees or potential employees simply because they believe in their rights to privacy and refuse to give access to their social media credentials.Employers should weightlift what is most important to them and evaluate what they stand to lose. Employee morale may suffer and an environment of distrust may take precedence. These conditions are not conducive to a healthy workplace resulting in poor military operation and poor productivity. Is this really worth the tiny bit of extra information that may be revealed by invading a person’s social media profile? Businesses must stay on conk of developing legislation to protect themselves. Job seekers should also remain educated on their rights.It is sad to think that a person may find themselves valued a job so badly they would be willing to hand over any information that is requested of them. We will probably see the appendage of a new department in most companies. This department will be responsible for technology privacy education and enforcement which could save the business millions of dollars in lawsuits. The future of technology isn’t slowing mow one bit. The law may never catch up, but it will keep pushing away to protect the rights of employers and employees. Social media is just that: social.What a person does outside of the workplace is, in most cases, of no concern to the business. As they say, don’t alloy business with your persona l life and vice versa. If we go away that to happen, where will the line be drawn? The line must be drawn now. Works Cited (1) Swallow, Erica, â€Å"How Recruiters subprogram Social Networks to Screen Candidates”, October 23, 2011, http://mashable. com/2011/10/23/how-recruiters-use-social-networks-to-screen-candidates-infographic. (2) http://www. ftc. gov/os/statutes/031224fcra. pdf (3) http://epic. org/privacy/workplace/\r\n'